Reinforced-concrete railway tie and rail-securing means.



I '11. 11. 1 01111111111. REINFORCED CONCRETE RAILWAY TIE AND RAIL SECURING MEANS. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 6, 1911.

1,012,152, Patented Dec. 19,1911.

Inventor. Zarie Z2. PoZZaM.

COLUMBIA PLIINDGRAPII (IO-.WASHINGTON. D. c:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EARLE R. POLLARD, 0]? LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

REINFORCED-CONCRETE BAILWAY TIE AND RAIL-SECURING MEANS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EARLE R. POLLARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Reinforced-Concrete Railway-Ties and Rail-Securing Means, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to reinforced concrete railway ties and means for securing the ties thereto.

As railroads are constructed at the present time wooden rails are used, these ties decay from being exposed to the weather and by absorbing moisture from the surrounding ballast which soon causes them to disintegrate, and lose their gripping power for spikes. As the ties disintegrate the weight of the train bearing down upon the rails soon sinks the base of the rails into the ties, which may result in the spreading of the rails or throwing of the track out of alinement.

The object of this invention is to provide a tie that will be more substantial and nearly everlasting and have greater stability in a roadbed than a wooden tie and will not be affected by acclimation changes, and when installed will be a great saving in maintenance of the roadway; also to provide a means for securing the rail to a composition tie which will have a greater holding power and is possessed of the same simplicity as the devices now in common use.

A. further object is to provide a reinforced concrete railway tie that will resist the great stresses and shocks sent out by the vibrations of a moving train, and to construct the general configuration of the tie so that it will have great holding power in the roadway, particularly preventing slipping of the track to one side on curves where the strain is the greatest.

Another very important object is to provide a fastening device that is simple in construction and effective in practice. Heretofore fastening devices used in reinforced concrete ties have been expensive and unreliable. Devices using bolts and nuts are unsafe as the nuts become loose and the rails shift out of line, making it unsafe for traffic.

In the drawing forming a part of the annexed specification :Figure l is a side elevation of the tie and fastening device shown partly in section. Fig. 2 is a plan Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 6, 1911.

the truss member 17 Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

Serial No. 601,069.

view of the tie. Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of a socket. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a perspective V ew of a spike. Fig. 6 is a perspective vlew of an adjusting spike. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a rail plate. Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view of the tie taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1. Fig. 9 is a cross section of a spike and socket taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 10 represents the concrete tie which has the sides 11 made narrower than the ends 12, shoulders 13 being formed where the narrow part of the sides terminate; as dirt and rock is tamped' around the tie in constructing the track, the shoulders 13 provide abutting surfaces in addition to the end surfaces 14 which prevents any lateral motion of the tie. The top surface of the tie has a raised portion 15 which adds strength to the middle part or waist of the tie, this being the weakest part thereof, the upper surface 16 is not raised high enough to interfere with any part of a traveling train.

I/Vhen the weight of a passing train is upon the rails there is a pressure bearing down upon the ends of the tie and a reverse pressure at the middle bearing upward. To protect the tie from cracking at these points a heavy truss member 17 is provided, which may be made preferably of twisted steel and is bent to the form as shown in Fig. l of the drawing. This member is embedded longitudinally in the middle of the tie, having the crown 18 disposed in the raised portion 15 while the trough l9 curves under the rail extending nearly to the bottom 20 of the tie and the end 21 projecting upward nearly to the upper surface of the end of the tie. As the above recited forces act upon the tie, the intermediate parts 22 and 28 of overcome the said forces and keep the tie from cracking. In addition to the truss member, lighter reinforcements 24 are provided, these reinforce.- ments may be of barb wire or any suitable material which will give rigidity and strength to the body of the tie.

Embedded in the end portion of the tie are sockets or casings 25 which may be made of metal or any suitable resisting material. While the said sockets or casing may be of any desired shape in cross-section, they are preferably made cylindrical. The upper end 26 is of such form and large enough as 15 of the tie.

to allow a spike to be driven into it, the lower part 27 being curved and tapered down to a flat edge 28 forming a pocket 29 on the inside. These sockets are embedded 5 in the tie with curved ends preferably away from each other as shown very plainly in the sectional part of Fig. 1 of the drawing. The flat edge 28 being somewhat wider than the body of the socket prevents the socket from being raised out of the concrete or plate is placed upon the tie. Spikes 35 and 36 are driven through the openings 34: and into the pockets 29 of the sockets 25. The lower ends of these spikes have a long tapered portion 37 which terminates in a point 38, the tapered portion is slender enough to be curved under pressure, or readily bent when the spikes are driven into the sockets 25. At the throat 39 of the spike 36 a shoulder 4:0 is formed, the under surface 41 of 30 which rests upon the surface 31 of the end of the tie when the spike is driven into the socket, the opening 34: in the rail plate being large enough to receive the throat and shoulder of the spike. The shoulder 40 is to pro- 35 vide adjustment when a heavier rail is to be placed on the tie. In using a heavier rail the base 42 will be wider and in such case the spike 35 may be raised slightly and the spike 36 will be drawn from the tie; after 40 the wider base is placed in position the spike 35 is driven down and a spike with a smaller shoulder or a spike similar to spike 35 may be driven into the same socket without loss of the tie.

The method of applying a rail to my tie will now be described: The tie being molded with the sockets embedded in place as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the rail plate is placed into position with the spurs 32 set into the recesses 33 of the tie; the rail 43 is then laid upon the plate and the spikes driven through the openings of the rail plate into the sockets, the edges 44: bind against the inner walls of the sockets but are not embedded therein as is clearly shown by Fig.

9 of the drawing. As the spike is driven into the socket the point 38 follows the curvature of the pocket of the socket and forms a clench 45 therein, which together with the binding of the edges against the inner walls securely holds the spike in the socket.

If it is necessary to remove the rail the spikes are drawn out of the tie in the usual manner without injury to the tie.

In drawing a spike from the socket the tapered part 37 of the spike, which has been bent by being driven into the socket, straightens out leaving it in perfect condition and it may again be used.

It will be evident that either spike heretofore described can be used in any of the sockets of the tie on either side of the rail and that the opening of the sockets can of course be varied as to its outline without departing in the least from the spirit of the invention.

hat I claim is 1. A reinforced concrete railway tie having curved sockets embedded therein, said sockets adapted to secure a spike when driven therein.

2. A composition tie having bent casings embedded therein adapted to receive and bend the ends of spikes.

3. A composition tie having curved spike sockets embedded therein, said sockets adapted to bind upon the edges of angular bodied spikes.

4. A composition tie having curved track fastening receiving casings embedded therein, one end of each casing being flattened to prevent the same from being withdrawn from said tie.

5. A concrete tie having spike sockets embedded therein, said sockets adapted to bind upon the edges of spikes, said sockets also adapted to curve the body of said spikes.

6. A reinforced concrete railway tie having curved sockets embedded therein, spikes driven into said sockets, said sockets adapted to form a curved hook on the end of said spikes.

7. A reinforced concrete railway tie having curved sockets embedded therein, a plate having openings registering with said. sockets, said sockets adapted to curve and secure a spike when driven therein.

8. A concrete tie provided with an arched central portion, said tie having broadiend portions forming road bed engaging shoulders, the said end portions being provided with curved spike engaging casings embedded therein.

9. A reinforced concrete railway tie in combination, having sockets embedded therein, spikes driven into said sockets, said sockets affording means for securing said spikes, said spikes having means for allowing a wider flange of a rail to be laid on said tie.

10. A rail fastening comprising a composition tie having curved sockets embedded therein, spikes driven into said sockets, said sockets being adapted to turn the body of said spikes into a clench.

11. A concrete tie having a narrowed cen-.

tral portion for forming road bed engaging shoulders, said portion arched on the upper surface thereof guarding against weakness where the tie is narrowed, said tie having a curved truss member embedded therein and extending into said arched portion for strengthening the same, the ends of said truss member being curved upward and extending nearly to the upper surface of said tie.

12. A concrete tie having a narrowed waist portion with vertical sides, said portion having an arched upper configuration for guarding against weakness where the tie is narrowed, wide end portions, road bed engaging shoulders formed at the junction of said waist and said end portions, said end portions being provided with spike engaging sockets, a truss member lying longitudinally within said tie and having its crown extending into said arched configuration for strengthening the same and its ends curved trough shaped to prevent the same from coming into contact with said sockets and to anchor them in place.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 31st day of December, 1910.

EARLE R. POLLARD.

Witnesses:

C. SnvnRANoE, W. H. LOGAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

